Doctors say a young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi has died at a hospital in Singapore.

Demonstrators shout slogans and wave placards as they move toward India Gate in New Delhi on Dec. 27, 2012, during a protest calling for better safety for women following the rape of a student in the Indian capital. The raped woman died in hospital Saturday.

SINGAPORE—A young Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital, after her horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protection from sexual violence that affects thousands of women daily, in homes, streets and public transport, but which often goes unreported.

She “passed away peacefully” with her family and officials of the Indian embassy by her side,” said Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth hospital where she had been treated since Thursday.

“The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss,” he said in a statement.

The woman had remained in an extremely critical condition since Thursday when she was flown to Singapore from India, he said.

“Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth Hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days. She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome.”

The woman and a male friend, who have not been identified, were travelling in a public bus after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who took turns raping her. They also beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into her body resulting in severe organ damage. Both of them were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

The frightening nature of the crime shocked Indians, who have come out in their thousands for almost daily demonstrations, demanding stronger protection for women and death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum life imprisonment.

But the tragedy has also forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, which forces them to keep quiet and not report it to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Also, police often refuse to accept complaints from those who are courageous enough to report the rapes and the rare prosecutions that reach courts drag on for years.

After 10 days at a New Delhi hospital, the victim was brought to the Mount Elizabeth hospital, which specializes in multi-organ transplant. But by late Friday, the young woman’s condition had “taken a turn for the worse” and her vital signs had deteriorated with indications of severe organ failure, Loh said.

She had earlier suffered a heart attack, a lung and abdominal infection and “significant” brain injury, according to the hospital.

Police have arrested six people in connection with the attack, which left the victim with severe internal injuries.

Indian attitudes toward rape are so entrenched that even politicians and opinion makers have often suggested that women should not go out at night or wear clothes that might be seen provocative.